SUstain The Yard’s 2024 Earth Day Celebration Successful!!

On Saturday, April 20th, we hosted our 2nd Annual Earth Day Celebration by collaborating with the Houston Community Ambassadors (HCA), Minority Ambassadors of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS), and LifeShare Blood Bank. 

To enhance our volunteer’s mentorship and fellowship experience, our dedicated sponsor, Dr. Calandra Robinson, treated our 96 volunteers to breakfast on Saturday, and has ensured during each of our previous events that our volunteers receive breakfast and lunch.  Thank you so much Dr. C. Robinson!

We would like to recognize several student leaders who have volunteered consistently for our past five events since Fall 2022; these individuals are:

  1. Amber Swayzer
  2. Kaitlyn Preston
  3. Kayla Youngblood
  4. Trinity Davis (Two-time scholarship recipient)

In the fall of 2022, the Houston Community Ambassadors (HCA) were empowered by the Southern Foundation, and Gabrielle Lenoir (student leader) spearheaded “SUstain the Yard” (SUTY). Thanks to Gabrielle’s dedication to this platform, we were able to execute the following milestones:

  • From 2022 to present, in partnership with the Southern Foundation, we have awarded $10K+ in scholarships and financial assistance to Greater Houston area students attending a campus in the Southern University System and Baton Rouge area students attending Southern Lab, benefitting 10 students. 
  • We completed 7+ sustainability project dates on the Southern University – Baton Rouge campus. 
  • Registered and activated 500+ volunteers, including college students, student organizations, alums, and community members. 
  • Trained 500+ volunteers in skilled tasks, including pressure washing, flower bed preparation/cleaning, trash collection/disposal, and landscaping. 
  • Fed 400+ student volunteers while mentoring students in dinner etiquette, financial planning, career development, and mental health awareness. 
  • We empowered 96 volunteers during our 2nd annual Earth Day Celebration on April 20, 2024, our largest volunteer event ever. 
  • Saved 36 lives through our blood drive with 12 registered donors in collaboration with the LifeShare Blood Center. 
  • We generated an estimated $5K in donations from community donors for food & beverages, supplies, and materials. 
  • It has created a positive culture of sustainability across the Baton Rouge campus through collaboration with students, alums, NPO, and community partners. 

The HCA would like to continue Gabrielle’s legacy by encouraging students to keep “SUstain the Yard” since she graduated on May 17, 2024. 

Thank you to all our volunteers, blood donors, and sponsors from the HCA, MAPS, and LifeShare Blood Bank!!

Our next “SUstain The Yard” will be during the 2024 Fall Semester, to include another blood drive, personal care donation drive, and trash collection, and the dates are:

  1. Homecoming Sunday, October 20th (trash collection)
  2. Saturday, November 23rd (blood and food drive, along with trash collection)

Click here for information on our past events and projects.

Click here to view pictures from our past SUstain The Yard events and projects.

We are always accepting donations towards our scholarship fund and outreach programs, so please consider donating today via the below payment form.

Sincerely,
Tovah Lewis, Senior Executive Director
Renae King, Operations & Logistics Director
AJ Hammond, SSHE Director

Houston Community Ambassadors (HCA)
832-779-0199
hca.sujaguars@gmail.com

#SustainTheYard
#HoustonCommunityAmbassadors
#WeAreHBCUs
#mentalhealthawarenessmonth

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